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With my eyes wide open:
Miracles and Mistakes on My Way Back to KoRn
By Brian “Head” Welch
Published by Thomas Nelson

Woah! calm down there friends.. stick around for this one. I know the title might have thrown you off and you are thinking this is a review of a new “CREED” album, but it’s not. This is the second book from Brian “head” Welch. His first one, went through his testimony talking all about his band, his life, his drugs, his destruction and ultimately his salvation and it was fantastic. So naturally I was excited and anticipating a follow up.

This book takes us in deeper into the nuances of his life, choices, solo career, his personal band, His walk with Jesus and then his decision to rejoin the band KORN. Being a pastor of a church dedicated to the recovery of people addicted to anything but Jesus, I am very drawn to stories like his. Brian went through pretty much everything and almost lost everything. I have seen the ugly side of the christian music world, heck for that matter the church in general. He experiences the hardships that come from being in the body and being reminded that the church is broken too. What is amazing about his story is the testimony of God’s faithfulness and seeing His church truly attempt to love like Jesus did for this man and his family. Eventually another member in Korn found hope and Jesus and I’m sure God isn’t done yet.

One of my favorite segments on brian which aligns with this book, is from the movie Holy Ghost. Watch it below and maybe it will make you consider reading his story.

Understanding Exposure, Fourth Edition: How to Shoot Great Photographs with Any Camera Paperback –
by Bryan Peterson

Well this is my first photography book to review and I am delighted to say I picked a great first one. The Dance between shutter speed, aperture, and exposure is kind of a tough one to wrangle. I’m still learning that end even though I have been this book really opened up my mind. Many other sources go into explaining the why and how, but I have never really understood it. I love that the book goes into detail and then backs it up with photos that not only show the image taken but show the photographer taking it. This inside look actually made things so much clearer for me.

It also includes suggestions on how to create exercises from the techniques laid out. I am looking forward to trying out many of these ideas. One of them was waving quickly a blanket or curtain behind a persons head and then shooting at a slow shutter speed to get a blur behind them. That is pure brilliance and I can’t wait to try it.

It is just so full of good things and imagery. I would give this simple read 4 out of 5 stars. Glad I got it and even more glad to put it’s ideas and expertise into practice in my own work.

I’m not exactly sure where the breakdown happened that in the scope of the gospel that hell became an even more important topic than the cross, but recently there has been a ton of controversy over it. Every theological side has been thrown into the wind of social media and it seems either long standing tradition or the loudest most popular voice wins.

This book comes from the “counterpoint series” which is almost like reading a parallel bible. So what we have is a book that is broken down by not only by theological concepts but also written by multiple authors. I was impressed by how each section was consistent in how it was written and broke down each concept in detail. Each chapter was grounded in the word and backed up with theology versus conjecture. What I mean is this is not just a bunch of guys opinions and “revisionist” theories. This is years of research done and written out to have a conversation over this difficult topic.

General editor Preston Sprinkle concludes the discussion by evaluating each view, noting significant points of exchange between the essayists.

Again this “conversation in book form” was interesting, but also a bit sterile. It is written a bit too technical and gives off the air of being a seminary book that is really only suited for a person wielding a hi-lighter. What I mean to say is this is NOT for your average reader, but it is worth attempting to tackle.

The Ancient Path: Old Lessons from the Church Fathers for a New Life Today
by John Michael Talbot

I received this book a LONG time ago and really took some time to digest it’s content. Growing up in a home full of jesus movement hippies, I knew who John Michael talbot was but I didn’t know his story. This story was somehow familiar to me in that I grew up slowly dipped into the culture and history of the church fathers.

John michael talbot takes us on a journey showing the reader that those men were actually humans. He writes about their stories, what they had to say and how they lived in a beautiful way. However, it is the tie in to his own journey that is remarkable. He writes how their stories shaped his story and his testimony.

As a pastor there were many many things I could pull out of the text and learn from. The biggest I would say is a reminder that so many went before us and dug the wells of the faith… not so we could dig more but so we could pull out the living water. It is in the foundation of the church fathers that we build our gospel journey and rooted in christ.

“The heart of God can be found in the unlikeliest places, in the unlikeliest people.”

Jamie Blaine is a christian psychiatric crisis interventionist called to “the least of these”. Much like the books slogans we realize through true stories that God is visible in the midst of the marginalized people he works with. Story after story expresses the heart of God and the redemption of Jesus.

I was at a meeting tonight actually where somebody said “God turns our mess into a message” and that is exactly what this book does. This book showcases hope in the midst of the brokenness of people’s lives with light writing that makes the heaviness of the stories more palatable.

I think this speaks well to something that God has been teaching me more and more about… Looking at people through the lens of Jesus. Can we truly love people with no strings attached? When you truly operate in this manner you will find yourself, as Jamie does, Seeing Jesus’s strength in the frailty and weakness of man.